Sheik and the Ice
by Lynny M
Summary: Sheik travels through the Ice Cavern and rescues Princess Ruto, then enlightens her as to the predicament the Water Temple is in. OoT. Oneshot.


Sheik and the Ice

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Author's Notes: Yep, another Rutofic. This one is about her rescue, by Sheik, from the ice cavern. I cannot really say too much more about it, because it is very plain.

Also, a caveat —I have made Sheik into his own separate character. I realize that this is a little against the OoT universe, but the reader will just have to deal with it.

BETA-READING by Fensta, who did a hugely amazing job.

SPECIAL THANKS to P-dawg, a colleague who makes this interesting.

Recommended view: 3/4. I feel this best represents things, but I cannot make you do this. Ciao.

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His name was Sheik, and he was very cold.

The cavernous hills behind Zora's fountain had not always been so frigid, _that_ much was obvious. The Zoran territory was one of mild winters; much further down, where Hyrule field opened up, the temperatures could dip lower. Amphibious people that they were, the Zora could not permanently reside where the waters became painfully cold— and so they stuck to the comfort of their Domain. For this Domain to freeze over, the malevolent spirit at hand surely must have been one of respectable power…and this _cavern_ was particularly forbidding as well; a cage in which to slaughter a noble race. His studies read of a cavern that had once been a dripping labyrinth of cool springs and basalt formations—and now they were an icy deathtrap. Thin icicles hung from the cavern ceiling, and if you disturbed one, it was likely to fall and maim you. A snowy powder had formed over a thick layer of ice, making the ground slick and unpredictable. And it was unnaturally cold, as if something dark was absorbing all traces of heat. Sheik had been careful to wrap his feet well, but they were fast becoming numb.

He moved through the frosty air, slowly and deliberately so as to avoid injury, maneuvering gingerly over ice-capped boulders and stalagmites. He carried a satchel and a bundle of traveling items on his back, but he managed the weight without struggle.

He was of the Sheikah, one of very few; a dying and secretive race that lived in Hyrule's shadows. They had long ago sworn fealty to the land's royalty, and even before that time their history was one of _service_. They were the shaman, the sorcerers, the soldiers, the confidants, and the priestesses…an ancient and self-sustaining people. Sheik considered himself a soldier, a single mercenary fighter. He was trained in many arts. He burned with purpose and the energy of youth.

Skilled or no, he felt nothing but honor and privilege in being chosen by her Highness, the Princess Zelda. In these increasingly black times, the Princess lived among them, hiding her strong presence like one hides a light from a marksman, so that he may not know where his enemy lay. She dressed in drab colors, covered her hair, slept beside her nurse—the venerable Impa of Sheikah—and carried with her the miasma of a collection of incense and fetishes that her neighbors made to chase off Ganondorf's influence.

Zelda, even in her youth, was undeniably intelligent and wise beyond her years. She spoke softly, but her words were powerful, engaging. She involved herself in the deepest circles of the Sheikah. She was the talk of all those who studied the histories and prospective future of Hyrule.

But what was to be done? Ganondorf held in his hand the triforce of power: it was the single most devastating fact that Hyrule had ever had to face. Though he lacked the balance of the other pieces, he was practically limitless in his malice; the temples were caged by immense evils, thousands had perished while towns were burned and looted, and all manner of dark-hearted monsters roamed to kill.

Verily then, it was obvious. The Sages _must _awaken, but they would not hear the call until those smothering demons were eradicated from their respective temples. Only one man could make that happen, and only time would bring him. But while the world waited, they could at least level the playing field a bit…and if the Goddesses' will was with them, so they would.

Zelda had turned to Sheik. She asked him personally to help her in this war of desperation. The Hero of Time could only do so much on his own—someone would have to fill in the gaps. "My dreams are nothing but premonition these days," She had said to him. "There are many things that Link will not understand at first."

"You…know his name?"

"Indeed, I have seen him."

"…His name is…Link?"

"He is a boy of my acquaintance. It all... _weaved_ together…Ganondorf was succeeding in his quest to gain the keys he needed, and I sensed the blackness of his heart. Who knows what it was…was it fate? I cannot tell. I saw Link in my dreams but I was mistaken in my actions. In the end it was my fault, Sheik." He remembered her eyes becoming wet and hard at this point. "I caused the very problem I sought to prevent!"

"How do you mean, my Princess?"

"It matters naught. What is in motion is in motion, and I need you to be my arms and legs, Sheik. They are searching for me at this very moment—they know I am somewhere; only _where_? Please stand by me and aid him in my place." And so the bond was created.

A bat screeched overhead and fluttered past. Sheik regarded it with a wary eye and continued on his trek into the cavern.

Ganondorf and his followers had taken care to ensure that power would remain on their side. The Great Races had all been disturbed; at this very moment the Goron people were being pursued in their homeland of Death Mountain, and it would only be a matter of time before the situation escalated. But for now there was nothing to be done for the Gorons, as the Hero of Time was long in coming. There were more pressing matters: The Princess Ruto, the sole child of King Zora XVI; the only one capable of saving her people and driving the Blackness from Lake Hylia, was encased in a sheet of ice in these hellishly cold caverns. Ganondorf had placed a respectable demon over the Water Temple, and though Sheik did not know the nature of the beast, he knew that he would cower to look it in the eye; if it was so likened to have an eye with which to see. This beast had taken the warmth from Zora's Domain, and the waters had begun to freeze. Sheik had seen it in a dream, how the Zora people had fled into the caverns in an attempt to escape the cold. In the end many ended up frozen under a pool of spring water. Those who were completely frozen still had a chance at life, though it would be slim. Those who froze to death in the chill air—well, they were just that: dead. _What a stern example_, Sheik thought.

The rocky floor beneath his feet became a slick of ice. His feet slid a trifle and he had to watch his balance.

Not far ahead was a sort of passage carven out of the chilly granite. Sheik sensed danger beyond, but this he was expecting. He drew his dagger and moved forward without a second thought. Ganondorf's influence made threats out of bats, crows, wolfos…but these threats were predictable.

A low growl from the blackness confirmed his suspicions, and Sheik found a white wolfos kneeling in the shadows. It was a beautiful creature, shaggy and muscular, but it was here to protect his territory nonetheless. It raised its hackles and made a quick movement.

"Be still!" Sheik cried, and it paused just long enough for him to slip a deku nut from his satchel. The wolfos' eyes took on a raging sparkle, and it leapt forward to take Sheik's arm into its jaws—but Sheik snapped the nut to the ground, and the flash of phosphoric whiteness sent the beast back. Temporarily blinded, it could do nothing but stagger about. It barked feebly, and the eyes rolled furiously to no avail.

"Oh, you'll have worse days, my friend," Sheik said softly to it. "Let this be a lesson to you. Let me pass."

He moved forward, unafraid, shuffling through icy gravel, watching the keese-bats flap their way around the ceiling. The scenery changed subtly; the ice grew thicker and light became scarcer. Behind sheets of frozen water, little flashes of lights danced here and there. Further down, the land dipped a little, became rocky and uneven. He could feel Ruto's presence stronger than ever.

The spring that the Zora populous had ended up in—the lucky ones, anyway—had frozen very smoothly as a placid stretch of iridescent ice. In this area particularly, it was even _colder_...in a way that went beyond temperature. The evil here was very apparent. He felt the stress of it in his heart.

So in this way he had a very grave sense of purpose here.

Ruto had succumbed to the cold in a nearly vertical position. Motionless, off to either side of her, were two Zoran soldiers who, no doubt, tried to protect their Princess to the very end. Sheik exhaled slowly and tried to _sense _the collection of bodies beneath the ice. There were so many lives here, all floating in a gentle, unmoving matrix...on a hairline between waking up or passing on. It disturbed him to keep that image in his mind, so he let it fade away. It was time to do his job; he was here to rescue the Zoran Princess.

From his satchel he produced a few pieces of wood charcoal. He marked a rough square around Ruto's temporary grave and made the signs for heat at each corner. This first task would require the most strength; his skills in the lighter arts would be tested.

He admired his penmanship for a moment and then began to set out other things: a handful of incense fetishes, various mixed drugs. He knew a Sheikah medicine woman; she had many theories about Ruto's potential awakening. She recalled her many encounters with victims of frostbite and exposure, and one fisherman who had come within an inch of his life when he fell into an icy lakefront. "I feel she is safe," she had said. "She'll be able to wake up."

She had provided Sheik with a few items of medicinal value. He had a fermented mixture of teas; it smelled something awful and Sheik thought that the odor alone would be enough to rouse a fainted person. He had also a buckskin roll for her Highness, a cotton half-towel, and a wool blanket. Supplementing these, he had a candle dish and muslin strips for wrapping. Simple tools, but all helpful if luck was on his side.

He unrolled the buckskin, set the smaller items down. "Well," he considered. "That is where she'll lay." And having nothing more to prepare for, he turned back to his markings on the ice. His feet had lost their feeling several minutes ago; it was unbearably cold, a fact that continued to register with him. He regained his composure, shivering with the feeling of malevolent forces, knowing that every small amount of warmth was being sucked out of this chasm.

He looked upon the markings; the setup seemed rather simple, but then most of it lay within ritual and formality. This first battle would have to come from with within; despite this, it was not the biggest battle there was to fight.

"I am prepared to face you," He said aloud. "I know she's in there; I do not appreciate you having her."

He made his mudras and focused the energy within him. It began to grow, build and flow in his middle, and he coerced it to move toward his fingertips. It was white-hot, the power he knew through Sheikah upbringing, the power gained in his training, his services; some sort of healthy magic. He traced and retraced his marks, at first easily melting the ice, watching the water pool over the small changing landscape. The deeper he trenched, however, the more he noticed an opposition to his work. The ice began to refreeze, forcing him to twist and manipulate to continue his progress. _It knows what I want, _Sheik thought. _Yet_ _it does not know me or how to correctly stop me._

Ruto's shapely head was half-exposed now. It would have to go quickly from here. He refocused his energy, sought to exert all of his strength. Great flashes of heat and power chipped away at the ice, caused it to fall away in chunks, in soupy rivers of frost. More and more, Ruto's body came free. Sheik hooked an arm around her limp shoulder, gripping with the strength of adrenaline and determination, half-into the pit of slush. With one free hand, he made a final move to melt the ice holding her feet. It became weak, and as he pulled upward she came lose.

Her body was the heaviest thing he had ever had the misfortune to hold. Her weight seemed to have nothing to do with it, but the way it hung, without life, and yet not _dead_... a lead weight, though it shouldn't have been so. It was wet, and colder than the ice it came from.

He let her fall upon the buckskin, breathing hard, momentarily hot. The Zora Princess looked like a dead fish, bloated in the sun, off-color, tissues threatening to come apart. Sheik knelt and turned her on her back, examined her quickly, and took up another charcoal piece. Without pause, he began marking her for the signs of life and heat: once on the inside of either wrist, on the front-most part of her forehead, just above the stomach, and the inside of each ankle. These were the same runes, more or less, that he had used for the ice; Old Hylian and ancient Sheikah wording. It was a meeting of white magic, cultural tricks, and various religious artifacts. At this nexus of timelines and most crucial actions, it was imperative to work with everything in reach.

He took the cotton half-towel and began working the flesh of her right arm. He used the motion to lull himself, meditating on the action. He began to say out loud a prayer.

"The three who know us, and all lesser spirits, and the great circle of faeries..."

It was a basic prayer, but a good way to lift the veil. From the right arm he moved to her heart. Her breasts were like bags of ice, soft but with an unnatural frigid density; he felt for her a and massaged with renewed strength in an attempt to get her body to work on its own. From the heart he worked the left arm, then her head and neck, and then to her feet. It was discouraging work; the skin was cold and rubbery, slimy. But he continued, twice again around. The action was warming her up, but she did not yet live. He covered her partially with the wool blanket, pinched the bridge of her nose and blew sharply into her mouth. There was a deep gurgling and a small flow of water that came up from her throat. This seemed to start her nerves, and she reflexively spat up a more frothy amount of liquid, first tinged yellow, and then with a small amount of red blood. Then there was a great sucking shriek, an attempt at a breath. Encouraged, Sheik wrapped the body tightly, continued to rub and palpitate the flesh.

She began to have fits, limbs contorting with a strength that even Sheik struggled to contain. The gills to either side of her head began to move as if questing for water and the large, powerful fins of her arms and hips flipped unconsciously. This was a good sign, if a little frightening; she began to breathe irregularly. He held her fast.

She seized on and off for perhaps an hour; Sheik did not know exactly how long he had been working, and with no view of the sky, he couldn't know for sure. Eventually the tremors faded into intense shaking, and from there into a more relaxed shivering. He wrapped her tightly in the blanket, and let her lay alone.

The mood of the chasm hadn't changed, but Sheik seemed to notice it anew as he knelt to one side of his patient, preparing the oil warmer to heat her tea. The great jagged walls of ice rose into blackness, and there was no background noise, no sound of the passage of air or things in trees.

The candle flame smoked a little; the smell was pleasant.

King Zora XVI had been encased in some sorcerer's form of ice. He remained frozen in his hearing chamber. This was an issue, but it was not the most important thing. The King was past his prime; a good diplomatic leader, but little else. Ruto was not only the heiress to the Domain, but she was, by all reports, sharp and fiery, a good and tough seed.

During their time together, the Princess had often talked of knowing Ruto. She had only personally seen her once, at some young age...but what she seemed to remember most were letters sent between the two Royal families, incidental notes about Ruto and the Royal House. Zelda believed a great deal in Ruto. Zelda believed in many people, of course...but there might have been something of a kinship between them as princesses.

Sheik found Zelda's intuitive faith fascinating.

He rubbed his hands together over the tea, his eyes unfocused, lost in thought. Many paths would have to come together to save Hyrule. There were so many paths; so many possibilities. Link was much like a key to many complicated locks—that was how Sheik saw it, anyway. The valiant was a small part himself, but he did the rigorous parts of the job, and through his work he opened the way for all the benevolent forces.

Sheik realized that he was worried. _Zelda keeps her senses open,_ he thought. _I will, too. I'll do what I can for him._

A small sound emerged from the wool blanket. "That would be her Highness," Sheik said aloud. He pulled the blanket from her face. Ruto's eyes were open, bright with consciousness. He lifted her by the shoulders and held her upright.

"Ruto! Princess Ruto!"

The Zora girl poked a grey tongue between her lips, leaving a film of sticky moisture. With some effort, she found her voice, though it was reedy at the start.

"What is...this?"

Sheik put his hands on her face. It was a wonderfully intimate moment, the connection of their eyes and the hushed exchange of voices...and despite the great gravity of the act, Sheik felt happy. "You're alright. You're in the back caverns of Zora Fountain. Do you remember coming here?"

"It...It's...cold. Cold!" Her teeth chattered. She looked dismayed by this fact.

"I know it."

"W—who are you?" She said between chatters, urgently.

"My name is Sheik, of the Sheikah. I'm a servant to the Royal Family."

"...Sheikah. I've never known a Sheikah." Sheik was about to say something comforting when Ruto spoke again, more clearly: "Please tell me what's happening."

"Zora's Domain is frozen over. It's... the Gerudo King and his entourage. He means to incapacitate the Zora. Most of the population is frozen under this lake. You must remember coming here?"

Ruto nodded and attempted to answer and Sheik silenced her with a touch of his hand. He put the tea up to her mouth and indicated that she drink it. It must have been awful; she spat it out reflexively but he forced it down by squeezing her jaw open.

"It's supposed to be good for you. Gets your humors moving."

She grimaced, groaned and put her head down. "Nayru's skies —mercy me!"

"It's a bad thing, what's happened. The land is ravaged; the people are...oppressed. Hyrule Castle's town no longer exists. I don't need to tell you what happens in the shadows." Ruto's teeth continued to click, but her eyes were wide open. The violet irises flicked back and forth. Sheik continued, repacking his supplies; he had information to disseminate. "The Princess Zelda sent me to find you. She's among the Sheikah now, hidden away, safe. The Gerudo King seeks her but she's not his top priority from day to day. Zelda sent me to find you, because she has a way with premonitions."

"...This I have heard from letters." Ruto said, unmoving from her wrappings. "...If I remember...correctly."

"This is true. Zelda spends most of her days in meditation, studying Ganondorf's path...planning and overseeing, I suppose. She dreamt many times of your freezing waters."

"I see. Then, I have a responsibility." She began to sit up. Sheik moved to help her.

"Go slowly," He said, but she linked her arm to his and remained upright, leaning on him.

"I've sensed malevolence before...I've always known it, whether or not I had the patience to call it out. I know my place as well. It's, what do they call it...duty_. _I will do what I must do, because that is my duty. There is no question of my participation. What do I need to do?"

Sheik looked at her. She was indeed fiery, willful. A hard girl, a rare breed...strong. "The only hope your people have is in you. You will travel to the Water Temple. There's a great evil there; it's cursed. It is nothing you yourself can fix. Do what you can. You'll have to wait for a valiant — and he will come."

Ruto pursed her lips together. Her expression became somewhat severe. "I believe you." She said. "Although—it is troubling to hear all this from you, here and now. I hardly know where I am. I have no people!"

"You have my sympathy, believe me. I...have a feeling that we'll only see worse things...as time progresses."

"Nevertheless I trust you. I do believe things will fill out."

"I commend you for your strength. However, we must be on our way out. We'll freeze to death if we stay very long. Up." He draped her arm around his shoulder, stood slowly with her. "Walk with me. You'll feel better."

They moved out, step by step. Her feet were heavy at first, legs weak, but she picked up along the way. The light from the mouth of the cavern was infinitely bright upon their emergence; the grey, chilled waters of the Fountain moved in lethargy. Ruto's depression was palpable. She glanced out at the bleak seascape, pale and shaking, and Sheik motioned for her to sit on the cold stone. She wrapped herself in the buckskin, knelt down without taking her time.

"My satchel — we have a few items for you. And this hunting knife. Always good to have a sharp edge with you." He handed her a blade in its sheath. Ruto took it, looked at it, and looked pleased.

"I will gut fish with this."

Sheik nodded, though he was unsure of her meaning. Ruto blinked, placed the knife into the satchel.

"Many thanks, Sheikah." She said.

"Zora's Domain is solid ice. There are no open waterways save the river. If you take it far enough, it warms up significantly — and it will get you close to Lake Hylia. However, I must also tell you that Hylia is no better off, really; the lake is almost completely dry." He noted Ruto's pained expression. "I have confidence in you. There are perhaps many things that have yet been taken care of, but you're here now. Do what you have to do." He pulled Ruto back to her feet and pointed to the horizon where the Fountain ran off over the falls. Ruto appeared to be thinking; after a quiet moment she spoke again.

"Tell the Princess that I wish her well, and that she is my thoughts. I will be on my way." She stepped about the granite formations and made her deliberate and lonely way through the Fountain. Sheik followed, slipped into the background, bracing against the cold breeze and the icy mist. She would slip over the falls and soon be charting a path to her people's Temple, and Sheik did not doubt that she would make it.

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END


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